♪ now you can give yourself a kick in the rear! v8 v-fusion plus energy. natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. good saturday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. >> uprising here helped open my mind to a broader world and to our responsibilities to choose between fairness and injustice, between right and wrong. >> president obama in africa. the president delivered a speech to hundreds of students, then called the family of nelson mandela. we'll have a live report on the events happening right now in africa. also ahead -- >> make no mistake, it will be a bad decision implemented in every way as it should be. >> gay marriage and the military. the high court ruling clears the

way for the pentagon to provide equal benefits. i'll talk to a lesbian couple married on the campus of west point just as weddings resume in california. plus, artistic and enterprising. how a group of young kids is rebuilding the jersey shore one shell at a time. it's today's big idea. we'll get to all those stories in a moment. first, though, we start with president obama's visit to south africa. right now the president and first lady are arriving for the official state dinner with south africa's president, jacob zuma. he spoke at the university of johannesburg. he gave his thoughts and his prayers to the ailing nelson mandela. >> obviously he's on our minds today and we join the people of the world in sending our prayers to them because he still inspires us all. >> before that town hall the president and first lady talked to mandela's wife, that picture

right there shown here, a photo tweeted out by white house. president obama also met privately with the mandela family, we are told, the former president of south africa remains in critical condition on this saturday. kristen, first of all, president obama's visit to south africa has been overshadowed by the ailing mandela, in critical condition. how did the phone conversation and the visit go with nelson mandela's family? >> well, i think they were both emotional events. as you mentioned, the president and first lady called michelle while she was at the hospital with nelson mandela. he won't be going to the hospital, by the way, craig. they say out of deference to the mandela family. two of his daughters, several grandchildren, and according to a statement that the president

released afterwards, he said he expressed his heartfelt support for the family at this very difficult time. and also really reaffirmed the legacy of nelson mandela. what's interesting is that we have seen that pout throughout the president's trip which focuses on eamericaing democracies. he said that's what he left to this country, south africa, and really to this entire region. the president focusing on this trip on strengthening ties with africa, particularly by increasing investments, in food security, health, trade, china has for out paced the united states when it comes to investing in africa. and also in terms of the use here. as you mentioned, the president spoke with young african leaders earlier today at the university of johannesburg. those are the themes we've seen throughout this trip. clearly, the health and illness of nelson mandela is overshadowing the president's really first extended visit to africa. >> kristen, we've seen images of hundreds of protesters outside

president obama's speech today. what exactly are they protesting? >> that's right. there were hundreds of protesters and they've really been protesting throughout the week. they are opposed to the president's foreign policy. they say they were hoping many of them say they were hoping that president obama would bring sort of a new american foreign policy. they don't believe that has happened. they point to a number of his foreign policy initiatives including the use of drones, his foreign policy toward the middle east as well as cuba. those are just a few things to name a few. but really over-arching they say is this continued american arrogance when it comes to foreign policy. if you ask the white house to respond to the protesters, they say, look, this is a thriving democracy in south africa. this is part of what nelson mandela fought for so they welcome the protesters. certainly president obama did get a mixed reception here in south africa.

>> kristen, thank you. now to a developing story coming out of egypt where four people have been killed so far, including one american student from maryland who was stabbed to death in protests, marking the one year anniversary of president mohammed morsi's inauguration. the unrest overnight is being seen as prelude of sorts to massive protests planned for sunday. president obama talked about egypt's instability earlier in south africa. >> egypt is the largest country in the arab world. and i think the entire region is concerned that if egypt continues with this constant instability, that that has adverse effects more broadly. >> as a precaution, the state department has announced the evacuation of non-essential u.s. embassy staff and also warned americans against traveling to egypt. meanwhile, about 200 marines in

italy and spain have been put on alert to protect the u.s. embassy if vial liens breaks out against americans there. as the senate finally passes the comprehensive immigration reform bill. here's vice president joe biden announcing the results. >> the yeas on this bill are 68. the nays are 32. the bill as amended is passed. >> but that bill now faces a brick wall in the republican-led house where its future is far, far from clear. henderson is a national political reporter for the "washington post." jonathan allen is senior washington correspondent for politico. and "usa today" columnist and nbc latino contributor is also here. good to see all of you on a saturday afternoon. >> good to see you. >> specifically here, what are

the biggest hang-ups in this bill for the house? >> the entire bill in some ways. i mean, you know, take your pick. i mean, this idea that 11 million illegal immigrants would become citizens in 13 years, i think it is, they don't want that. they feel like that the border needs to be secure before any of this happens. this bill, as you said, is going to hit a real brick wall. we've seen in the house so far today that they had a gang of eight. that gang broke down. i think they lost one member. they might be able to get the bang back together again. i think the big question is will this end up looking like 1986 when president reagan was able to sign a bill that gave citizenship to 3 million or will it end up looking again like 2006 where you had something that was able to pass the senate. you had also a bill that came out of the house. but it ended up being a non-issue and not passing because it was too far to the right in the house and too far to the left in the senate.

unfortunately, for folks want to see immigration reform done, you just didn't have enough republicans back this bill. only 14. that's essentially a third of the republican caucus in the senate. and it doesn't mean anything to those house republicans. >> jonathan, speaker boehner has made it abundantly clear that the house will no way, shape, form, or fashion rubber-stamp the legislation. take a listen. >> the house is not going to take up and vote on whatever the senate passes. we're going to do our own bill through regular order and it will be legislation that reflects the will of our majority and the will of the american people. >> jonathan, what's the speaker's plan and how much juice does he have left in his caucus to support that plan? >> look, i think what the speaker was saying there is they're going to pass a tough border security, first measure. they have some other items in there. also interior security. meaning you verify other provisions like that. but you're not going to see that

big comprehensive immigration bill coming out of house if concern for conservatives in the house is anything that passes that t. house is something that can be taken into conference with the senate. some of them are going to be worried that what they get back from a conference is not something they would vote for. so a lot of politics there for john boehner to navigate. how much juice does he have left? look, the major legislation that's passed this year that's become law has been on the strength of minority votes in the house. he has promised not to do that anymore. i think there's a big challenge for him and it will be a test of that juice. >> raul, speaker boehner is facing pressure white house and senate and house democrats. a lot of pressure to move quickly on an immigration compromise but he's also facing pressure from the right. what happens if john boehner's reputation and legacy if he can't end up somehow figuring out how to control the more conservative factions of his own party? >> well, that's exactly what's on the line right here because

in a sense, he has to choose, you know, between his own personal legacy, maybe his job as speaker versus the legacy of his party going forward. and bear in mind, where the situation -- where we stand right now for the democrats, this is a great position to be in strategically because the democrats now, they're either going to get a political victory or they're either going to get a policy victory. so i think some of the house leadership is aware of this but yet they cannot coral, you know, there is a group of hard-core extreme conservatives, they don't want a path to citizenship which they see as amnesty. that's the challenge. and by saying repeatedly that he will not, you know, allow a vote, speaker boehner has definitely narrowed his own options. right now the moment, it's the moment of truth and the pressure is on him. >> let's pivot here to edward snowden. he's still in moscow. as he and others decide his fate, no longer clear if the self-declared leaker is going to end up in ecuador like we all thought or like a lot of folks

thought at least. this is what the president said thursday about efforts to get snowden back to the united states. >> no, i'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker. >> what are our options here at this point? >> it's hard to know. i think one of the things that was most interesting to me about the president's statement there was on the one hand you had this rhetoric coming out of his administration that this was a grave threat to national security. and then he essentially belittles this guy as just some random hacker and says he's not going move heaven and earth to get him. but hard to know whether or not they're going to end up being able to get him. you had snowden's father come out and essentially say he would come back to the united states under certain conditions. hard to know whether or not he's actually in contact with his son or talking to the white house or their administration about this. but this is just something we're going to have to watch and see and hope at least for the

administration's sake that not -- that he doesn't leak any further information. >> big thanks to all of you. >> thank you. >> thank you. rchltsz a rash of arrests in the nfl. one, in the, just last night. nearly 30 players have been arrested since february. four now this week alone. does the nfl have a crime problem? we're going to talk about that, also, of course, the late toens arrests in the hernandez case. plus, this -- >> women's health, if this bill were to go into law, truly is put at risk. >> wild west politics. the democratic rising star that dare to tussle with texas republicans and how governor rick perry is responding. and a woman in the white house, house minority leader nancy pelosi talks about hillary clinton's future but in the process did she also offend past t presidents? we'll play that for you. [ male

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by virtue of the power and authority vested in me, by the state of california, i now declare you spouses for life. >> supreme court case that led to the overturning of proposition 8 say i do just hours after california lifted its ban on same-sex marriage. attorney general molly harris presided over the wedding. the other couple jeff and paul were married 90 minutes later in los angeles. the supreme court also ruled that a key provision in the defensive marriage acts, or doma, was unconstitutional, allowing all federal benefits for states that recognize

same-sex marriage. that ruling could bring about stunning improvements in the lives of same-sex military families in the country. immediately after the decision, chuck hagel issued a statement of support saying, quote, the department of defense, the defense department intends to make the same benefits available to all military spouses, regardless of sexual orientation as soon as possible. that is now the law and it is right thing to do. sue fulton and her wife penny was the first lesbian couple to marry in the chapel at west point. sue is former army captain. president obama appointed her to the board of visitors in 2011. good to have both of you here. >> we're happy to be here. >> thanks for coming in. i appreciate that. first of all, what does in broad terms, what does the supreme court's decision on doma specifically, what does that decision mean to you personally? >> to me it means that the next

blockage to marriage equality in new jersey has been taken away. do you want to take it, sue? >> you know, i mean, there's an emotional component to this. we've been working really hard for our service members to have their marriages recognized. and so, you know, they've now got that. they've are being recognized by department of defense. there's still a lot of work to do. we live in new jersey. you know, new jersey only has civil unions. so our marriage has yet to be recognized but there's so much joy, you know. i was talking to my friend, army major shannon mclaughlin this morning and she and casey are in massachusetts with their kids and they are -- they have these benefits that they deserve, that they worked for, just like tens of thousands of gay and lesbian service members. that's what we fought for, so they would get the respect that military families deserve. >> i know you stood on the steps of the supreme court demanding equal rights for same-sex military couples, specifically. let's take a listen and talk about this on the other side. >> we stand here today as

patriots to say now is the time. we will not let another chief charlie morgan or staff sergeant donna johnson or corporal andrew willford die in service to this country without knowing that his husband or her wife will be recorded the full measure of our respect. now is the time. >> that was three months ago. how far have we come when it comes to lbgt rights specifically in the military? >> we've come a tremendous way. i really -- you know, don't ask or tell appeal was great but it was the beginning. now our families in the military will be recognized. no now, veterans families, the veterans administrations have different rules so veterans are not recognize in the same way. we have that work. we don't know if shannon has to go to ft. dix which she may have

to go to for training, when she and casey get off of base, they're no longer married. you know? they're in the state of new jersey. and so there's still work -- state work has to be done to really take care of all of our service members. >> did you think this would happen when it did? i mean, and by that i mean, i've talked to a number of other couples who are -- either gotten married and states recognize same-sex marriage or one day hope to do that and several of them have said we thought this day would come. we did not expect the day to come as quickly as it has. >> that's a very good question. you know, to be honest, when it happened, what was it, last wednesday? >> yeah. >> i -- i started balling because i didn't think it was going to happen in my lifetime. so i was -- i was thrilled and surprised that it did. >> sue fulton, penny, big thanks to both of you. >> thank you. coming up accoue g uing up to check in with pat dwar.

we had them here two weeks ago. they were the same-sex couple featured in a short documentary "married and counting." the king is back, and he's heading to paris. burger king is returning to the city after a 15-year absence. big news. the chain once had 39 restaurants in the french capital but they closed in 1997 because the french apparently weren't gobbling enough of the flame-broiled goodness there. a new deal will bring a new whopper to train stations and airports across the country. bonjour, burger king. bonjour.king t o be an even better company - and to keep our commitments. and we've made a big commitment to america. bp supports nearly 250,000 jobs here. through all of our energy operations, we invest more in the u.s. than any other place in the world. in fact, we've invested over $55 billion here in the last five years - making bp america's largest energy investor. our commitment has never been stronger.

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>> if hillary clinton -- secretary clinton were to run and we think if she ran she would win, i believe she would be the best prepared person to enter the white house in decades, in decades. with all due respect to her husband, present company, and other presidents. >> decades. an endorsement on the heel of a supreme court victory in a moment of elation, edie windsor announces she is endorsing christine quinn for new york city mayor if elected would be the first female and openly gay mayor. and in case you are not already one of her 200,000 plus followers, michelle obama joined instagram this weekend and she shared photos of her trip to out south africa. she already seemingly mastered this new video feature and promises more to come. >> hi, it's michelle obama. i'm here in south africa. i wanted to take time out of my trip to thank all of my new

insti instagram followers. stay tuned. there's more to come on this trip. talk to you soon. bye-bye. >> i love how she introduces herself like we don't know who she is. finally, the taiwanese re-enactments of the news are back. taking on wendy davis' filibuster complete with dinosaurs, melting republicans, and the ghost of ann richards. [ speaking foreign language ] [ male announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance in sync?

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diplomatic officials in egypt to actually leave the country. the warnings come as violent deadly protests continue to rage in many cities, including alexandria. a short time ago we learned that the death toll in see jiegypt i at seven. that includes an american college student who was stabbed to death friday. we will go live to egypt in a moment. here's a quick look at the other top stories. extreme heat out west this weekend. with temperatures expected to climb to 128 degrees in death valley, california. triple digit temperatures are also expected today in arizona, nevada, utah, wyoming, and idaho. the national weather service is warning everyone to stay indoors, keep cool, drink lots of water and watch out for signs of heat stroke. more bad news for paula dean. she's been losing business deals left and right since she admitted using racial slurs. first she lost her tv show on the food network.

then walmart, target, home depot, sears, and jcpenney are letting her go. now her publisher is giving her the ax as well. dean had signed a deal for five cookbooks but random house say they have stopped the presses and won't be publishing any of them. some relief for the victims of the boston marathon bombings. non-profit one fund has collected $60 million in donations. now it's doling out that money to 232 people who were hurt in the bombings and the families of those killed. first week of testimony wrapped up in the george zimmerman murder trial. the jury heard from 22 out of a potential witness list of about 200. nbc's ron is our man in sanford, florida. he's been following this case closely. what was the first week like? >> it was fascinating. you were down here for some of it. fascinating week to watch these two sides try to build their cases. the prosecution piece by piece

trying to build a case and right on their heels the defense will come out and knock that case down piece by piece. yesterday they had a couple of neighbors on the stand talking about the fight itself and that question that everybody wants to know the answer to, who was on top in that fight. but of course a lot of people still bugz about the sparks that flew here a few days back. >> ladies and gentlemen, we're going to recess for the evening and for the weekend. >> with the sequestered jury off this weekend at a secret location, week two of testimony in george zimmerman's second degree murder trial is set to begin on monday as prosecutors continue to layout their case against him. >> when you first came into contact with the defendant that evening, did he appear to be in shock, sir? >> no. >> friday the state called the first person on the scene after trayvon martin was shot who said zimmerman appeared calm despite bleeding, asking the man to call his wife to let her know what happened. >> kind of cut me off when he says, just tell her i shot someone. >> martin was unarmed and zimmerman says he killed the 17-year-old in self-defense last

year. he has pleaded not guilty to second degree murder. the jury also heard from another neighbor who called 911. >> hear somebody yelling for help? >> i'm pretty sure the guy did. holy slooep. >> testifying he saw martin on top of zimmerman a as they fought. >> the person you now know to be trayvon martin was on top. >> correct. >> nearly two dozen witnesses have testified. and the most riveting q and a so far pitted zimmerman's attorney don west against a 19-year-old high school student. >> are you listening? >> their clasheses reignited the topic of race that surrounded the case, especially online. generating a fire storm of activity on facebook and twitter. >> i thought, in fact, that you said that it could have been, for all you know, trayvon martin smashing george zimmerman in the face, is what you actually heard. >> what? >> yeah. just earlier today. >> by who? >> by you.

>> you didn't get that from me. >> rachel talked by phone with martin in his final moments, saying he used a racial slur to describe a man following him. >> describing the person is what made you think it was racial? >> yes. >> and that's because he described him as a creepy [ bleep ] cracker? >> yes. >> all right. testimony resumes here on monday morning. and the next big witness potentially everyone wants to hear from is the lead investigators in the case. he is the one who interviewed george zimmerman multiple times, wanted to push for charges but those charges didn't come for 44 days and by an outside prosecutor. >> ron, there's been controversy over the past 24 hours or so over a picture posted by the daughter of defense attorney don west. there's the picture right there. what can you tell us about this tweet pic? >> well, i'm sure don west would hope that that knock-knock joke he told to start his opening arguments would be the last gaffe for his trial. both of his daughters have been

at tending court. this is tradition, they would go for ice cream. this picture was taken monday or tuesday. it's the caption on that picture saying we beat stupidity. problem was she posted this on instagram and twitter accounts on wednesday. that's the same day that her dad went up against that -- the prosecution witness rachel and a lot of folks read into that that was a knock on her and has not played well on cyberspace. she has apparently tan down her accounts and don west has sort of issued a public sort of apology, if you will, saying he was disappointed in his daughter and ready to move on from that. spokesperson for the defense team said this is now how they've conducted themselves over the past year, handling this case, and they're also disappointed. >> nbc ron mott in sanford, florida. folks, there's been another arrest of an nfl football player this weekend. the third this week. washington, d.c. police arrested indianapolis colts safety -- arrested the safety early this morning that is joe.

he was in a vehicle with another man when police tried stopping the car. the driver led police on a chase before finally stopping. police say they found an unregistered handgun, ammunition and open container of alcohol inside. no word at this point on why police wanted to stop the car in the first place. but this, of course, this news comes as a third man linked to a murder case involving new -- former new england patriots tight end aaron hernandez is is in police custody. ernest wallace ternd himself in to police in south florida friday. a judge denied bond for him this morning. meanwhile, a second suspect who is arrested in connecticut is now in the hands of massachusetts' authorities. aaron hernandez is being held without bail in a massachusetts jail on first degree murder and other weapons-related charges. hernandez is accused of killing his friend odin lloyd. lloyd's friends and family laid him to rest this morning in boston. i want to bring in rob of the

nbc sports radio network. rob, for folks who have not been following this story closely, first of all, what was the relationship between odin lloyd and aaron hernandez? >> well, the relationship for starters, they had a relationship through two women that they were both involved in with aaron hernandez had a fiance. that fiance's sister was at some point dating odin lloyd. that seems to be how they knew each other. but the genesis of the dispute that the two of them had that led allegedly to this act, to what police say was aaron hernandez being involved in the murder of odin lloyd, some of that is still unclear and some of these arrests are really starting to piece together the overall picture here of why aaron hernandez would allege i'dly want to kill odin lloyd. and it seems to stem from a dispute that took place that night or a few nights earlier at a nightclub they attended and aaron hernandez allegedly contacted these two other

individuals, carlos ortiz from bristol, connecticut, and wallace from here in the miami area and they are both being charged with being accessories essentially to this crime. so the details are still unfolding but it's obviously very sad. >> what do we know about hernandez' past? >> well, you know, he was known as a guy who was a little bit potentially troubled when he was drafted into the nfl, there were a lot of people, despite his obvious talent as football player, who wanted to stay away from him. he had some issues with drugs when he was in high school and bristol, connecticut. he had had some associations with some people that were questionable. and he was from a tough neighborhood. and a lot of teams saw -- became a character risk. that's one of the reasons he ended up being a fourth round draft pick when he had first round talent. some of those things have obviously stayed with him potentially and have led to the trouble that he's in now. >> patriots cut their ties with hernandez after he was arrested,

even before he was charged, i should note here. the team has even offered patriots fans a chance to exchange their hernandez jerseys for a different one. i understand. why was the team so quick to act even before he was officially charges? >> i think the team has handled this very, very well. i mean, just the fact that even before a charge, he was clearly being investigated in connection with the death of an individual. before the chargers announced the patriots cut him on the day he was arrested. they waited until there was an arrest. they waited until there was some actual law enforcement action taken. before we knew it was a murder charge they cut him. and this exchange of jerseys i think was a great move by the patriots. obviously no mom or dad would want their kid walking around with a number 81 aaron hernandez jersey at this point. they're giving fans a chance to exchange those for jersey of equal value of any other patriots player. i think that was a great move. >> could be a running. a lot of those kids would trade in those jerseys for tebow

jerseys. >> what a contrast. >> quickly, 28 arrests of nfl players since the super bowl. hernandez' case is obviously extreme. but i got to ask you, are pro football players, are they more prone to trouble than other professional players? >> well, what i think is going on here is the nfl is not the problem. the nfl is not creating violent individuals but it's a symptom of a problem that is taking place in communities where nfl players are drawn from. nfl has more players coming into that league from inner cities, from poor communities in the united states than any other league. nfl teams are very big. they're much bigger than nba teams. they have more americans than major league baseball or hockey teams. so to me this is just a symptom of a much larger societal problem of violence in inner cities and minority communities and it's manifesting itself in problems that nfl players are having. >> speaking of sports, nbc

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every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. >> this is one device. and we are calling it iphone. >> ah, flashback to 2007 when the very first iphone went on sale. that's right. people camped out for those things. they still do sometimes. sales reached the one million mark by september that year. consider this, though. last year with the release of the iphone 5 sales topped $5 million, $5 million, in just the first weekend. talk about revolutionary. and who is winning the smartphone car today, you ask? somebody found this really cool map earlier this week and we wanted to share it with you. the question of who is winning the war might depend on where you live. new york city, the green dots on that map, the green dots,

indicate android users. the purple dots, there are a few purple dots still left there, the purples are blackberry. the red, the red dots are iphone users. moving dow now from one big idea that changed everything to today's big idea, comes from a group of children. all under the age of 9. they call themselves the belmar shell kids. and for them the jersey shore is not just a vacation spot, it's their home. late last year hurricane sandy def devastated their communities and destroying the icon anything belmar boardwalk. they had an idea. they started painting seashells and they sold them to help their communities rebuilt from the storm and they've sold a lot of them. here with me now hannah daugherty, founder of the zell kids and her father matt daugherty who is also the mayor. good to have both of you with me. hannah, i want to get to your shells in a second.

we're going to sell those things, too, today, on the air. we're going to sell them to probably more than what you've been selling them for. mayor, you set out of course to rebuild that 1.2 mile long boardwalk but you want it done in time for this summer. may 22nd, officially reopened. this is what governor christie had to say about it at the time. take a listen. >> the boardwalk that we now see here, most of it completely gone and those things that weren't completely gone and washed down the street were in tatters. we're back, belmar is back, the boardwalk is back. matt, thank you. >> why was it so important to get that boardwalk rebuilt? >> belmar has had a boardwalk every summer since 1985. it's the character of the town. 140 small businesses rely on the tourist dollars that come every summer. they're all small businesses. it was important to have the

boardwalk rebuilt on time by memorial day weekend this summer. >> hannah, how did this shell protect start? >> well, i found a little -- i found a group of shells that i collected a little before sandy and i found some paint and i decided to paint them. i did. and then i kept hearing about the board walk and what happened and it was destroyed and we need to fix it and how are we going to get the money. so i thought we could get a beach, and i asked my friends to help me with seashells and we started parenting. we first started painting them like that. >> that's really cool. >> and then there was holidays. >> holidays. >> so we painted irish one. we painted valentine's day. and we painted all sorts of them. >> how many girls are painting? are they all girls or do you have some boys, too. >> >> we have a couple of boys. not that many. >> and you say that with a look of disgust on your face.

>> yeah. >> you got a bunch of girls painting these shells? >> yes. >> how much are you selling them for? >> right now we're only selling them for $1. but we usually -- we usually say as much as you would like to pay. >> and how much have you raised so far? >> $5,000. >> that's a lot of shells, hannah. >> yes. >> what's your goal? do you have a goal? >> that was our -- our first goal was 25 to $100, just to get a beach bomb, but that didn't work out. >> what is the beechl bomach bo mayor? >> to rebuild the boardwalk we rely on fema but the other 10% we have to earn on our own. we decided for a way for people to participate, and you can go to our website belmar.com and make a contribution and have your name up on the boardwalk. lowest level is beach bum is $25 and the top one, $5,000, is the big kahuna. >> you guys are big kahunas,

hannah. >> yeah. big kahunas. >> so you also have, i understand, your 5-year-old sister is part of this project. >> uh-huh. >> she was going to be on with us today but she decided at the last minute her rate was too high so we couldn't afford to put her on television. what job did you give her? >> i gave her the cash register. >> entry level position. >> yes. >> entry level position. that's probably why she's not sitting next to you right now. >> yes. >> these are all $1. how many did you bring in? >> one, two, two, four, six, seven, and then i have two back-ups just because one broke. >> one broke. >> fierhere's a $5. can i get two for $5? >> yes. >> that seems cheap, doesn't it? what i would encourage you to do is take the rest into the control room and there are lots of people in there and they have all -- they have all unbeknownst to them, agreed to buy the rest. take the shells in and hopefully you can leave with a few more

bucks. it's a fantastic idea. i hope you continue to do this. do you want to grow up to become an artist. >> actually i want to grow up to be a psychologist. >> whatever you decide to grow up and become, you will be fantastic. mayor, i would imagine you've got to be quite proud. >> oh, so proud that my daughter did this and all of her friends who are in third grade. i got to tell you, they did it on their own. there was no prodding from any of the adults. i do have to confess for anything like this to be successful you know the moms are involved. so you will see some of those pictures. it's the moms that were the driving force behind all this. having kids out there at 7:00 in the morning selling shells before school, it just showed the level of commitment they had and how engaged they were in having the boardwalk rebuilt. >> cool concept. thank you for coming by. big thanks to you, hannah. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> keep painting. keep selling. >> all right. >> sell them for more than a buck. you could do -- you could make a lot more. all right.

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state house tuesday after virtually a day long filibuster to block a vote on the state's new abortion bill. the state legislator who stood for 11 hours is democratic state senator wendy davis. she drew national attention when she decided to take on the powerful republican-controlled texas legislature. erica greeter is a senior editor of "the texas monthly." rick perry wasted no time in recognizing a potential political threat. the is what he had to say at a right to life conference thursday. >> she's the daughter of a single woman. she was a teenage mother herself. she managed to eventually graduate from harvard law school and serve in the texas senate. it's just unfortunate that she

hasn't learned from her own example, that every life must be given a chance to realize its full potential and that every life matters. >> all right. so, davis responded to the governor's comments friday here on "morning joe." >> i could never for a moment put myself in the shoes of another woman confronting a difficult personal choice. and it really isn't for him to make statements like that. >> so, erica, i understand that this really isn't their first rodeo. what's the back story here between the governor and between wendy davis? >> well, it's interesting. she has been in state senate for several terms. this term she had a great session, you know, led a couple of bills and worked on a couple others. one of the one she's had sponsored and authored in the senate was a fair pay act bill that got through at the very end of the regular session and governor me r per revetoed it shortly before this debacle happened.

seemed like the first gesture that he was perhaps handing her a platform that you would think he wouldn't want to because we these are not issues that really pull in his favor, i think, in the general electorate. >> the bill at the heart of the matter here, it's a tough new abortion bill. i believe that senator davis says it would create a lot more hardships for women. the legislation is now back on the agenda. governor perry called for a special session to reconsider the bill. how will that likely go? >> it's interesting because governor perry in the first special session didn't put abortion on the call list until halfway through the session. but this time he's, of course, eager to get it on and get it through. and a couple other things also going to be considered in this special. you would by that this bill would go through this time. there's republican majorities in both the house and the senate in texas. there is some chance, i think, that republicans will look for a way to not have the same total mess on their hands that hey had this time around because from what i'm hearing and alleged a

lot of them realize this is starting to look pretty ugly. >> has all of this catapulted wendy davis to the top of the pecking order in the democratic party? >> yes. yes. she's now the most viable statewide candidate they've had in the past 20 years or so i would say. having considered a candidate for governor in 2014 potentially before this happened but now she has a lot more name recognition, of course. she has a lot more money. i think it's fair to assume. and she has a pretty good message because she can talk about the difference between her and whoever she faces in the general election. >> big thanks to you. we should note here that state senator wendy davis will be grai david gregory's guest tomorrow on "meet the press." up next, married and counting. the new york couple married nine times returns to the show with what the supreme court rulings mean to them. we just had these guys on two weeks ago. pretty fascinating. also, the future of voting rights in the america. they knocked down a key

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♪ good saturday afternoon. i'm craig melvin. you're watching msnbc. here's what's happening right now. >> and so the outpour that we and love that we have seen in recent days shows that the triumph of nelson mandela and this nation speaks to something very deep in the human spirit. >> honoring a hero. president obama is in south africa right now. he is meeting with nelson mandela's family. we are live with details of the trip and the health of the global icon. countrywide clashes. thousands of egyptians rally opening to oust their president. one american has been killed. it's only a prelude to tomorrow's mass protests. plus this. >> i now declare you spouses for life. >> the wait is over.

same-sex weddings are now under way in california for the first time since 2008. and they continue today. first though, president obama once again is in south africa today where he will be meeting with the family of nelson mande mandela. the president is on a three nation trip to subsahara africa. but overshadowing the trip is nelson mandela's declining health. rorngs always good to see you. first of all, what do we know about the president's meeting with the mandela family? >> well, he met with two of president mandela's daughters and several of his grandchildren about 25 minutes to a half hour or so. and not at the hospital. the president did not go there. the first family did not either, of course. president obama and the first lady spoke with nelson mandela's wife by telephone. she was at nelson mandela's side at the hospital where she has been for the past 21 days or so since he has been ill.

the last reports that we received is that his health was overall improving but still critical and very serious condition. but stable. that's which we've been hearing for the past couple of days which is an improvement from what we were seeing a week or so ago. still very, very unwell. the obama is having super with president zuma of south africa. he is meeting a number of young people here connected by satellite to young people in nigeria and uganda as well. something he is here to emphasize, trade, entrepreneurialsh entrepreneurialship, themes like young people on this continent and this country getting involv involved, engaged and taking leadership roles in their countries as they go forward for the rest of their lives. >> ron, how is president obama within where he held that town hall meeting? >> well, president obama is

enormously popular here. there were some protests because i think you could say that most of these protesters fall under the category of people who are generally disappointed in president obama because they had such high expectations that he would be a different kind of american president because of his heritage. but they are critical of him for not paying enough attention to africa. and then there are smaller groups, the communist party, the muslim party here, muslim organization here, who are concerned about american foreign policy in areas like cuba, the continuing drone strikes in pakistan, issues like that. over hei inwhemingly here, thers enormous affection and appreciation of president obama coming to this country at this time. it's really an enormous thing that's happen that you would have these two presidents, the first two black presidents in their respective countries here at t the same time. but again, all of this overshadowed by the grave concerns about president nelson

mandela's health. at this point critical but stable. >> nbc's ron allen for us. ron, a big thanks to you. be careful. for more on the president's trip i want to bring in whitney, a nonresident fellow at the brookings institution. always good to see you as well. the stated goal of president obama's trip is to advance the u.s. agenda in one of the world's most rapidly expanding regions. how is president obama hope to accomplish that? >> well, in africa seven of the fastest growing economies in the world are in subsahara and africa. president obama is really trying to reposition the u.s. to take advantage of that market, to get american companies doing more business, doing more trade, doing more investment. so in each of the stops, trade and investment has been a very important theme. as had engagement with the

youth, because on the african continent, the average age is about 15 years old. the president is developing programs that will focus on the next generation of political leaders, next generation of entrepreneurs, the next generation of legislators and civil society leaders. and that's a different kind of relationship than the u.s. has had in the past. >> there is, of course, ron just alluded to this and we heard this from earlier from kristen welker as well. significant challenge from china, specifically, for influence in subsahara and africa. many in africa has been disappointed at what that call a lack of u.s. attention while china continues to make inroad there's. there was a story from the "new york times" friday. chinese leadering have traveled extensively in africa in the last several years, investing billions of dollars in infrastructure throughout the continent. whitney, how does the president go about creating a more favorable view of the united

states or is there something more tangible that's needed to try and counter balance the influence of the chinese? >> look, visits are very important. and i think president obama himself has acknowledged that he wasn't able to give africa the kind of time and attention in his first administration that he hoped to. but hopefully this trip puts in place the infrastructure that leads to a deeper, more meaningful relationship because, as ron said, there's a tremendous am of residual good will for the united states in africa. they want american companies, they like the way american s do business. they love american brands in africa. so i think this trip could be a turning point to a much deeper and a much more mutually beneficial relationship with the african continent. >> on the first day of the president's trip, mr. obama was? senegal. he urged them to treat homosexuality as a crime,

senegal's president said his country was not homophobic and added, quote, we are not ready to decriminalize homosexuality. there were a flurry of nasty newspaper headlines as well after all of this went down in senegal. why do you think mr. obama used this opportunity to raise the issue? >> look, he's the president of the united states. he represents american values. and equal treatment for all people is one of our core values when it comes to everybody. and so standing up for gays and others is what we're all about. and if people disagree with that, so be it. but i think it's very important that president obama puts those views forward. >> whitney from the brookings institution. thank you. >> you're welcome. back here in the united states, house democratic leader nancy pelosi reportedly met with

lawmakers in her office last night to brain storm ways to fix the voting rights act. this after the supreme court struck down a key provision of the law earlier this week, demanding congress to basically come up with a better formula to decide which states and counties should undergo extra scrutiny before changing election laws. the voting rights at the naacp. i want our viewers at home to take a look at the map that we're talking about here. this is the map that shows the states and the counties that were subjected to the restrictions under the voting rights act. now that section four has been struck down, what do you anticipate going forforward? what's your fear about what these states and counties might do? >> well, you know, when you look at this map, what the supreme court did with this decision has potentially set civil rights back nearly 50 years. you know, we predict to see an

onslaught of voter suppression legislation and election changes across the country because now with essentially the u.s. supreme court essentially freezing the ability to utilize section five of the voting rights act which is one of the most tools of the voting rights act, we now have no protection for voters in those jurisdictions. and so we're already seeing, you know, within 24 hours after the supreme court's decision, you know, texas moving to implement its redistricting maps that were proven to be discriminatory. moving to put in force their photo id legislation, south carolina and north carolina and mississippi and all of these states are following. and so what we have to expect is a number of t voters that are going to be disenfranchised and what we will see as a rampant amount of extremists moves to disenfranchise voters, particularly people of color in this country. >> what's the naacp plan going

forward? >> well, our plan going forward so the make sure, first of all, that we're educating everyone in the communities and across the nation. it's important to note that while we did have a major setback with this move by the supreme court, they are still very important tools that the department of justice has within its disposal to ensure that we're protecting voters. and so it's important that everyone understands that. but most importantly, that it's time to act. our nation is growing. our demographics are growing. and this decision effects all americans. and it's important that we send a very strong message to congress, that americans really expected them to tap into the bipartisan spirit -- >> how confident are you about the congress passing a new law that would satisfy the object shup shuns raised by the court and the voting rights activists? >> in 2006 the u.s. congress passed with unanimously in the

senate and almost you nan plounn the house to reenact the voting rights act, which was validated by the u.s. supreme court. so we expect that this congress has to tap into that bipartisan spirit, and they'll have a choice. they have a choice. are they going to put partisan politics over democracy in our country? i think americans all across our country will be looking to our congress to lead. and we know that it's important that every single individual in our country, regardless of what your political -- your political position is or where you stand but yowe've got to put democrac first and we're going to expect and see that americans all across the country are going to realry put a demand on congress. and if not, i think we will see another backlash against the backlash. so i think it's going to be clear that congress has to act and americans are ready to make sure that they do act.

>> jotaka, thank you. >> thank you. crashes across egypt. thousands rally one day ahead of a major anniversary for the country's embattled president. we will go live to egypt. the house is t not going to take up and vote on whatever the senate passes. we're going to do our own bill. >> relenting over reform? action over immigration and reform is now in the hands of the house. but what are the chapss a bill actually gets passed? and saying i do over and over. the new york couple married nine times reacts to this week's historic supreme court rulings. steve and pat return to our show to tell us what is next. i want to make things more secure. [ whirring ] [ dog barks ] i want to treat more dogs. ♪ our business needs more cases. [ male announcer ] where do you want to take your business? i need help selling art.

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check this out. latest cover of "the new yorker" titled, bert and ernie. the cover shows the two characters snuggling together on the koucouch as they watch the supreme court rulings on tv. this is not the first time they have been thrust into the debate over gay rights. in 2011 in response to an online petition to have the two marry on "sesame street," the workshop released a statement saying that bert and ernie are just friends. this week, in case you hadn't heard, the high court gave same-sex couples around the country a big victory in two cases, one resulting in california becoming the 13th state in america to legalize same-sex marriages. pat dwyer, steve ven, in 2010, decided to get married in every state where same-sex marriage was legal. their quest was made into a

short documentary called "married and counting." they've been married in nine states so far. pat and steven, welcome back. good to see you both here in person. >> thank you for having us back. >> you mentioned when you saw that "new yorker" cover you were overcome. >> when i saw it, in my facebook news feed i started crying. i have to admit i thought it was beautiful. >> if nothing else, it was quite creative. >> absolutely. >> you were here two weeks ago. this is what you had to say about the two cases before the court then. take a listen. >> ultimately what we are seeking in this act of civil disobedience is recognition. and if the government does finally recognize us on the federal level and afford us all of the same rights as heterosexual marriage we will have 1300 rights that we didn't have before. >> did you get what you wanted? >> honey? >> in a large respect, we did. you know, once the decision came

down, you know, i knelt a little taller, felt a little stronger, felt a little gayer. but, yeah, it's an extraordinary moment in our history for the government to recognize us. we still have a bit -- we still have hurdles to overcome because the states individually can still deny recognition of same-sex marriages. our home state of texas would not recognize us as being a married couple, for instance. >> what did the decision mean to you personally? >> i thought that well, i thought that it was great validation for how smart my husband is. for me personally it was a really, really big thing because i have such great hope for the future for this country. i think that the people in this country are so tired of the terrorism and i don't mean the terrorism from other countries, the terrorism from our fellow americans, you know? why do we have to be so mean to one another. i think that we're ready to stand up and say we're not just going to fight for the ate, we're going to fight for the

people who live on the earth as well. >> your film that we talked about here, pat and steven, it's called "married and counting." it debuted two weeks ago in l.a., it comes out on itunes tuesday? >> this week. >> this past tuesday. >> right in time for pride. >> how much of an impact has the film, how much op an impact do you think the film has had on people's attitudes towards same-sex mairnlg? >> you know, recently, it played in the@the st. louis film festival and we had a lady in particular came to myself and our director, alan piper, and said i now understand this issue. i now -- my sister is a lesbian but i never understood this whole gay marriage thing, why you need it. i understand now. that one person, to me, made it all worth it. i think the more the film is visible, the more people can see two people who love each other. i think that visibility can help to change attitudes and, you know, people who are sitting on the fence on this issue can make a decision now, can say, well, i

don't know but now that i've seen this, i can fall to one side or the other. >> steven, the big pride parade happening in new york city tomorrow. you guys are both going to be there. hanging out with the governor? >> that's right. we were asked yesterday if we could like to mark with the contingency with the governor. i was at work running up and down screaming, oh, my god, yes, oh, my god, we're there, oh, my god, yes, oh, my god, we're there. >> how is it going to be different this year, the parade itself? how do you think they will be different this year compared to year's passed? >> i think there will be a big sigh of relief. i think the smiles will be bigger. i think the strangers will be hugging each other a little tighter. i think we're all really, relieve and very, very happy and weddings that happened in california yesterday, the stories, the pictures, everything is just making everyone feel the love that much more. >> pat, steven, big thanks. >> you can do that. it's okay. it's okay. >> by the way, what's next state? have we picked. >> i think we're looking at rhode island. >> let us know when you do it. we'll have you back. >> you come and be the ring bearer.

>> thank you. thank you for the invite. it would not be the first time i've been a ring bearer. the supreme court his or riggs decision comes just time again for new york city's pride week. check out the empire state buildings lit up like a rainbow last night in support of lgbt. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you.

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on a saturday night there, it's about 9:30, i understand. first of all, how is the mood tonight in cairo? what's happening there? >> well, don't be mistaken about what could be interpreted as some level of tranquility in the far background. the mood on the ground here is very, very tense. the protests are building up in numbers, including in the iconic tahrir square which is not very far away from here. you mentioned the one-year anniversary that it would mark for president mohammed morsi on sunday. the opposition wants or hopes that it can gain enough momentum in the protests to push him out of power. keep in mind that, of course, supporters of the president are saying, listen, u.s. voted into power a free and fair election and we will do everything to defend the government. that is why there is so much concern. you mentioned seven people killed so far, including one american student. 21-year-old andrew proctor. he was stabbed to death while witnessing demonstrations and

clashes between the two factions in the port city of alexandria. the family's statement added that he was in egypt to teach english and to improve his arabic language skills and that he, quote, worked there in the pursuit of peace and understanding. an investigation has been launched but as we understand, nobody has been arrested as of yet. of course, on a broader note, the peck tags is that we will see massive demonstrations on sunday. the army is astanding by. they are on high alert and will intervene if the violence escalates. president obama said he's watching this with great concern and, of course, the top priority is that u.s. embassy staff and some non-essential staff have left the country already. he's also urging all parties involved to come to the table and talk this out and not engage in any violence. back to you. >> youssef with us for us

tonight from cairo. big thanks, youssef. stay safe. up next. life-threatening heat. triple digit temperatures are scorching eight western states. in one location could set a world record. also, the search for wanted leaker edward snowden. now his father is speaking out on efforts to bring him home. we'll have a live report from moscow as well. you're watching msnbc. [ female announcer ] the best thing about this bar it's not a candy bar. 130 calories 7 grams of protein the new fiber one caramel nut protein bar.

good saturday. i'm craig melvin. the top stories making news. some welcome news for communities in oklahoma hit hard by tornadoes and flooding last month. fema announced today that it's approved $25 million to help cities and town there's rebuild and remove debris still left by the storms. and if you're out west this weekend, hopefully you are indoors. temperatures are climbing to 128 degrees in death valley, california.

meteorologists are also expecting triple digits in arizona, nevada, utah, wyoming and idaho. the weather channel's mike seidel has more from las vegas. >> hey, craig, here out on the strip in vegas it's starting out very hot on a saturday. the low temperature this morning was 90. that's it. 90. yesterday's high tide, the daily record here if vegas, 115. keep in mind, yes, it's supposed to be hot out here but the average high is 102. we were 13 degrees above that. across the southwest, palm springs or reno, triple digit heat. yesterday salt lake city, 105. in death valley, they could get to 130. that would be the hottest number recorded on the planet since july 1913, 100 years ago, and it was done there in death valley, the hottest spot on the globe. back here in vegas, cooling centers are open for humans and pets. as you can imagine, there are plenty opportunities to stay indoors and off the streets. yesterday we measured

temperatures out here off the concrete and asphalt just over 150 degrees. blistering hot weekend. some relief, temperatures a shade cooler as we get into the early part of the week and head towards july 4th. craig, back to you. >> mike seidel for us out out in las vegas. thank you. a u.s. ambassador susan rice said edward snowden's nsa leaks have not weakened the u.s. policy or obama's presidency. rice told the associated press that she does not think the diplomatic consequences at this point are that significant. snowden of course has been hiding out in moscow's international airport for nearly a week now. his father tells nbc that he does not believe that his son has betrayed the united states. >> at this point i don't feel this he's committed treason. he has, in fact, broken u.s. law in a sense that he has released

classified information and if folks want to classify him as a traitor, in fact, he has betrayed his government, but i don't believe that he's betrayed the people of the united states. >> a distinction there. the guardian's miriam elder is in moscow for us. the obvious question here, has anyone caught a glimpse of snowden since he's been in moscow? do we know that he's there? >> we got absolutely no confirmation that he is actually here aside from the statements of russian officials. not run photograph, not any video. nobody has actually admitted to seeing him in russia at all. >> how real is the possibility that they have managed to smuggle him out of moscow? >> i mean, anything is sort of possible. what we're all doing now is kind of sitting here and trying to parse the statements of russian officials. all we know is that edward snowden did not cross the russian border.

he could have been whisked somewhere else, frankly at this point really anything is possible. >> since snowden's u.s. passport has been revoked we understand he's been traveling on ecuadorian travel papers. your paper is reporting today that ecuador's president is having second thoughts about grapting snowenasylum. what more can you tell us about that? >> well, we know that vice president biden today was speaking with ecuadorian officials and pleading with them not to give him asim lum. there's quite a bit of disagreement inside the ecuadorian government on what to do. he's in this strange limbo. what we're weeki inlooking at i facing the limited time in the transit zone of some sort of russian airport if that's where he still is. >> dooung snowden, if he is in russia, if he is in moscow somewhere or somewhere else perhaps, if he ends up staying there, indefinitely, what could that mean for our relationship

with russia? >> well, it's kind of a delicate game. anti-americanism is really big in russia right now. so in one way it would be a huge coup for the kremlin to welcome here someone here presented as a real american dissident. on the other hand, russia really likes to annoy america but also understand it needs to maintain some kind of a good relationship so they won't want to tear things up completely. it's a delicate game right now that they're playing. >> thank you so much, mariam. >> thank you. up next, sparring with the star witness. the last person who talked to trayvon martin faced intense questioning about had some memorable exchanges with the defense attorney but the backlash over how she testified, the backlash over how she testified and what she said, how she said it, wooer going take that up next in the brain trust. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually

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trust. with this only two, two brain trustees. host of "wake-up call" and syndicated columnist for king features but because of guests' brains are so big, esther is 1/2 brains, bob, it's like we have three guests. >> awesome responsibility here. >> yes. your back is going to be sore from carrying it. esther, let me start with you. let's start with immigration. senate, of course, finally passing immigration bill this week, 68-32 vote. legislation worked on by the so-called gang of eight. it's now going to move to the house. it faces an uncertain future there, to say the least. what do you think that the house debate is going to look like, esther? >> well, we are in for a ride because it's all about the boehner. it's all about boehner. b-man. >> i call him the b-man.

reuters reported that house speaker boehner said that that this bill is dead on arrival at the chamber. they are going to write their own bill. they want heavy, heavy, heavy on border control and border security and less focused on passage to citizenship for millions of immigrants. so president obama already even from south africa has given the press conference where he has said i want this to happen, to pass, before summer recess. now, the reality is we're going to see a replay of so much of the paralysis argument and partisan ship that has characterized this congress because -- it's already been watered down in the senate version, already far away from what people wanted. there's already a ratcheting up for border control. for the house to say we're going the scrap this and write our own bill, seriously, how is that going to happen before summer recess? >> bob, is a watered down bill better than no bill at all? >> el wiwell, as a matter of fa what the house of

representatives is coming up with is more than watered down. extremists in the house is coming up with something that would be much more oh pris ipop. it wouldn't be immigration reformat all. it would be something along the lines of taking a harder tact against the immigrants. when president obama says that he wants the house to pass something, among many of the members, that's the kiss of death. i'm not at all sure this is going to pass by the time they recess for the year. >> "usa today" reporting leading republican lawmakers have made it clear that there is broad opposition to the senate's comprehensive approach and little gop interest in a bill that includes a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the u.s.-mexican border until the u.s.-mexican border is secured. part of this plan we should note here and we talked about this a little bit last week, this idea that before anything happens we're going to have to put an additional 20,000 border patrol agents along the border and

finish the 700-mile stretch of wall. there are a lot of folks, esther, who don't think that is something that's ever going to happen or certainly not something that's going to happen in the next five to ten years. >> yeah, and part of the issue is you have this kind of balance between the politics of what i'm grak immigration reform represents and the gop's lack of capital with the latino-hispanic community on the one hand. on the other hand, about the degree to which immigration has been the scapegoat that appeals to the base where the idea that you're ratcheting up the fear of normal people coming into the country, the loss of jobs, legacy of the 2008 economic come lapse. the combination means that the gop is caught in this cancerous politics in which they don't think there's any chemotherapy but which immigration reform is the key to gaining the political

capital from the hispanic and latino community. >> as a matter of fact, i think i'm going to disagree a little bit with esther. she says this is about the b-man. actually i think it's about the t-man. that is to say the members of the tea party. i think that john boehner if he had his way would probably come up with some sort of effort and compromise. you have this whole group of people in the republican side, on the republican side in the house, who absolutely don't want anything that would ever be called immigration reform. >> the supreme court, let's talk about the other big story. the supreme court tuesday striking down a key provision of the voting rights act, national journal reporting here that the republicans could benefit, the division is likely to help republicans alter voting rules and districts in key states voting rights experts said in the wake of the ruling tuesday, po eshl thely setting off a string of dominos that could bolster the gop's majority t in the house of the representatives for years or even decades to come. esther, do you think that a lot of folks will be able to get

their heads around just how significant the supreme court's decision on voting rights was this week? >> i don't know that we've really fully taken in the fact that we have just witnessed the entire rolling back of 50 years of civil rights, that the bloody brutal road to the acquisition of a vote in which finally, for millions of citizens of this country, their participation in a democracy was finally acknowledged through the passage of the 1965 voting rights act, the repeal of that, the decimation of that by that supreme court ruling is -- it's really no less than the desecration of democracy because the reality is it's not that the gop might benefit. they will, within 24 hours. texas putting into place unconstitutional for the previous election now promoving forward with a voter id bill

declared what was going against it. >> the justice department said it would remain aggressive protecting voters in the wake of the court's decision. i want to play a snippet of what they said. this is eric holder. week talk about it on the other side. here it is. >> let me be very clear. we will not hesitate to take swift enforcement action using every legal toolg thae too rema against any jurisdiction that seeks to take advantage of the supreme court's ruling by hintering eligible citizens full and free exercise of the franchise. >> is it realistic to expect that the doj is going to be able to be effective? >> well, you know, the interesting thing of what he just said is they would be using every legal tool. they just lost their most formidable one. now they will have to go through this very long drawn out court process which could mean that for an election or so those who want to can suppress the vote of people who they don't have on their side. and that of course can include

minorities. this is obviously a travesty. the people who are out there trying to suppress the votes, we've talked about this before, are not just any democrat for the most part. they are anti-democracy. >> third topic here. other big story this week. esther, i know you spent a lot of time about this. murder trial of george zimmerman. first week included gripping testimony from several witnesses from the prosecution, perhaps none more compelling than trayvon martin's friend, 19-year-old rachel jeantel. >> why didn't you go to the wake, to the funeral? >> i didn't want to see the body. >> i'm soer rry, what? >> i didn't want to see the body. >> no. >> why did you lie about not wanting to go to the funeral or to the wake?

>> guilty. >> guilty about what? >> that i was the last person -- i was the last person who talked to -- to their son. >> there was a rush of -- there was a rush of comments. more than just the content of her testimony. her appearance. her demeanor. her speech. all under scrutiny online. we're going to talk about that on the other side of this break] . to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol. i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

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the brain trust is back. bob franken in d.c. esther, your face book page, we pulled a snippet from it. i think we have that. do we have that? >> this is in regard, there it is. crazy folk on twitter and facebook and the blogosphere will be talking a bunch of nonsense about you. this is sort of an open letter to 19-year-old rachel jeantel

who testified. i'm reaching out. do not pay them any mind. their self-hatred and ignorance sees nothing of your hurt or your courage. to what do you attribute the back lash that we saw online? the back lash to her, not just her testimony but to the way that she sounded and looked even perhaps. >> let's be really clear. that back lash was the manifestation of two specific things. the self-hatred that comes from the way in which racism manifests, internalized for black folk, on the one hand. on the other hand the absolute judgment of white america on a black dark skinned female body and the way in which we think that we can attack that, minus the reality that this is a young teenage girl in a conversation with her young friend who was the last person to witness him alive. we don't see trauma. we don't see hurt. we don't see pain. we don't see the ineloquence of emotion. we make a judgment that is

rooted in this country's history of judgment of dark black skinned overweight female bodies. the neglectation, the negativity, the disdain of her, made me furious and it also reminded me that there is no way that we are not through this trial in the midst of another national conversation about trial. and yes, cross-examination is always brutal. we understand all the argument that's say this is a defense attorney simply doing his job. the comments that came afterwards were not anybody doing their job. the way he went after her was reminiscent of the way attorneys cross examine sexual assault victims. that creates a deflection from the defendant, george zimmerman who killed someone. rachel jeantel did not. she was merely witness to the kind of trauma that no teenager should go through. she was also speaking to her teenage friend. there is a code in teenage language in the same way that teenagers don't want adults to understand everything they say. >> were you surprise that had so many people either don't recognize that or didn't know

that? >> ifgs, i was disappointed at the cultural critic john morgan said something. there is something about the brilliance of racism that makes victims go after themselves in a way that doesn't make any sense. so this is the power of twitter and social media. that the conversation that might have been limited to certain circles becomes huge because you're in this national space. everybody can access. >> i want to bring you into the conversation here. what did you make of the testimony and the response to the testimony? >> well, first of all, to reinforce what esther is saying, i don't think we can be surprised anymore that we're a nation that has its share of haters and what you have now in social media, the haters have a forum where they can spread their hatred. it is sort of the dark side of free speech. as far as the trial is concerned, of course the

cross-examination, the lawyer was doing his job by trying to discredit the witness. there is something else that i think we want to point out when we're talking about the tactics of all that. let us not forget that we're talking about an all women jury. one of the things that will factor into this is whether his treatment was so brutal that it will have a negative effect on the jurors' thinking. >> you raise an interesting point, bob. a lot of folks were talking about the testimony, not just the content of the testimony but the way that she testified, esther. do you think that the way that she testified, for five and a half hours over two days, do you think that is going to have in any way, shape, form or fashion an impact on the jury or do you think it will come down to what she said? not the presentation as to how it was said? >> i would suspect -- >> go ahead, bob. >> i would suspect that the jurors are going to understand that in addition to everything that esther talked about, this is a nervous kid. she is all of a sudden, not only

in a trial which i don't know if you've ever testified in a trial but it is really quite intimidating. beyond that, particularly when you're committing perjury like i did, it is very, very intimidating to be in that circumstance. she is just a child. and i suspect that as a result, she was somewhat sympathetic to the jurors and the jurors are all that really matter here. >> in addition to which, all the jurors but one are mothers. they understand that with young people, all kinds of things happen. the jurors will arguably from my point of view, will i hope be paying attention to two things. george zimmerman's actions and that 911 call. absent rachel jeantel, however she said it, whatever people's judgment of that, you have two pieces of fact. one is that george zimmerman actually killed this child. and secondly the 911 testimony that conveys that he approached, pursued a child. so when you think about stand your ground, trayvon martin had

the right to stand his ground. not the other way around. >> that's the music. that means we have to go. wbai radio host. bob franken, syndicated columnist. see you back here tomorrow. first, "disrupt with karen finney." ew phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'.

but i'm also on a lot of medications that dry my mouth out. i just drank tons of water all the time. it was never enough. i wasn't sure i was going to be able to continue singing. i saw my dentist and he suggested biotene.

it feels refreshing. my mouth felt more lubricated. i use the biotene rinse twice a day and then i use the spray throughout the day. it actually saved my career in a way. because biotene really did make a difference. thanks for disrupting your afternoon. i'm karen finney. if you want to disrupt the political process, guess what. the supreme court just made it harder. >> the supreme court essentially knocked down one of the pillars of the civil rights movement. >> strikes down a key part of the voting rights act. >> it was a 5-4 decision with chief justice roberts joined by justices scalia, thomas -- >> i might not be here as president except for those who helped pass the voting rights act. >> the supreme court has